Paul H. Kocher (April 23, 1907 - July 17, 1998) was an author and professor of English. He wrote extensively on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien as well as on aspects of Elizabethan English philosophy and literature, and the Franciscan missions of 18th and 19th century California.

Born Paul Harold Kocher in Trinidad, he later moved to New York, becoming a United States citizen. He taught at various universities across the United States, retiring from Stanford University in 1970. Winner of the Mythopoeic Society's Scholarship in Inkling Studies Award in 1973 for his book Master of Middle-earth.